Busy Philipps Reveals Brain Tumour Diagnosis and Two Surgeries Ahead of New CBS Series
Busy Philipps had a malignant brain tumour removed weeks before she started filming her new CBS drama Cupertino, the actor revealed in an exclusive interview with People magazine published on 26 August 2026. The diagnosis came only because the 47-year-old booked a full-body MRI that her own doctor had tried to talk her out of.
Philipps underwent a Prenuvo scan — a full-body MRI that screens for more than 500 conditions — after her primary care physician discouraged her from getting one in 2025. She scheduled it anyway. The scan found a tumour, which was diagnosed as a grade 2 oligodendroglioma: a rare, slow-growing primary brain tumour that originates in the brain itself rather than spreading from elsewhere. The discovery was made in February, according to Deadline.
In March, Philipps had surgery to remove the tumour, which measured 2.6 centimetres. The tissue was sent for further testing. She recovered and reported to the set of Cupertino, where she plays a character named Natalia Boutella. Then a second health crisis interrupted the shoot.
After filming had begun, Philipps visited a dermatologist for Botox. The dermatologist noticed that the incision from her brain surgery looked wrong. That visit led to a diagnosis of staphylococcus — a bacterial infection — at the surgery site. Philipps needed debridement surgery, a procedure that removes infected tissue to stop the infection spreading. She told People the second surgery "threw" her, leaving her feeling like she was "back to square one" and "very upset," as reported by People.
Despite the two surgeries and the setback during production, Philipps struck an optimistic note. She told People she feels like "the luckiest girl in the world" for catching both the tumour and the infection early, and said the lesson from her experience is to gain knowledge and trust your instincts about your health, Deadline reported. A follow-up People exclusive carried the headline quote: "Grateful That I'm Alive."
Philipps is best known to television audiences for her roles in Dawson's Creek, Freaks and Geeks, and Cougar Town. Cupertino is a new drama for CBS; the network has not publicly commented on Philipps's health disclosures or any production impact.
What makes Philipps's story resonate beyond entertainment news is the chain of decisions that led to the diagnosis. She overruled her own doctor to get the scan. A routine cosmetic appointment caught the post-surgical infection. Both times, something she chose to do — against advice, or for an unrelated reason — surfaced a problem she did not know she had.
